Today, more than 100,000 patients are actively waiting for life-saving organs and about 50,000 more are added annually. Permitting organs from HIV-positive donors to be used for transplant in HIV-infected patients with liver or kidney failure could save as many as 1,000 people each year. As organs from HIV-infected donors would only be transplanted to HIV-infected transplant candidates, the waiting time for HIV-infected people who accept HIV-infected organs would most certainly decrease, as would the general waiting list for uninfected people awaiting transplants.

“The HOPE Act represents sound public health policy,” said HRC legislative director Allison Herwitt. “The action by the Senate HELP Committee is a major step forward in removing an outdated barrier which impedes access to lifesaving transplants for persons with HIV and AIDS.”

The HOPE Act directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) to develop and institute standards for research on HIV-positive organ transplantation and permits the Secretary to permit positive-to-positive transplantation if it is determined that the results of research warrant such a change. The Secretary would be required to direct OPTN to develop standards to ensure that positive-to-positive transplantation does not impact the safety of the organ transplantation network.

Senator Barbara Boxer said, “I applaud the Senate HELP Committee for approving the HOPE Act, which could save hundreds of lives a year and would give hope to patients waiting for transplants.”

Knowledge about HIV, AIDS, and treatment of the disease has advanced significantly since the ban was instituted in 1988.

The Centers for Disease Control issued draft Public Health Service Guidelines in September of 2011 that recommended research in this area, but noted that federal law has blocked this important research from taking place in the United States. The United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the nation’s organ transplant system, and over 40 other patient and medical advocacy organizations have endorsed the HOPE Act.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

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Contact HRC

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To contact HRC please visit our contact us page. If you are a member of the media, you can reach our press office at: (202) 572-8968 or email press@hrc.org.

5 Things to Know about LGBTQ Issues

1. There are roughly 10 million LGBTQ adults in the U.S., or roughly 4.1 percent of the population.

2. Sixteen percent of same-sex couples are raising children according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011 Current Population Survey.

3. There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBTQ individuals from employment discrimination; there are no state laws in 28 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 30 states that do so based on gender identity.

4. More than 50 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed in 19 state legislatures in the 2017 state legislative session.

5. The FBI reported 1,167 hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity in 2015. This is likely a dramatic undercount since thousands of agencies didn't submit any data and reporting is not mandatory.